What to do about this rust and bodywork

[ffcol]

What ideas do you have and ballpark cost to fix the bodywork on this 60 series?
1) driver front door leading edge and rear door trailing edge rust bubbles.
2) passenger rear door near bottom of window rust bubble.
3) driver rear quarter dent.
4) passenger rear quarter rust bubble.
5) Passenger rain gutter rust,

Just have no idea of ballpark cost and approach for rust fix/paint and expectation for further migration of rust if left alone. I am over 20 years removed from owning an FJ60 so been out of the game a while.

 

[Lead Head]

Assuming there is no major perforation under the paint on the doors, and you're okay with them just smoothing it over with body filler and blending in the repair, I'd bet probably $1500 for the doors and dent.

You're picture is not very clear of the gutter, but it looks pretty bad.

 

[3_puppies]

trying to find a shop to work on it will be the challenge, seems most auto body shops these days are bolting on panels and insurance work, not actual body work/repair
you will need to find an old school resto type shop and it will be time and materials type job, no exact estimate as things can expand when rust is opened up
@kelly saad does wonderful work but is a couple states away

 

[Gimme a 60]

Looks like a solid FJ60 - spray it with oil, and enjoy driving it for a good long time.

 

[Skniper]

What ideas do you have and ballpark cost to fix the bodywork on this 60 series?
1) driver front door leading edge and rear door trailing edge rust bubbles.
2) passenger rear door near bottom of window rust bubble.
3) driver rear quarter dent.
4) passenger rear quarter rust bubble.
5) Passenger rain gutter rust,

Just have no idea of ballpark cost and approach for rust fix/paint and expectation for further migration of rust if left alone. I am over 20 years removed from owning an FJ60 so been out of the game a while.

View attachment 4176341View attachment 4176342View attachment 4176345View attachment 4176347View attachment 4176344

Did you just buy that, or the one that had it listed?

 

[CruiserTrash]

What rust?

 

[DrRock]

Rust never sleeps. Hate to be a bearer of bad news, but rust is like an iceberg and you only see ~10% of the real issues. That said, there are two camps on approaching this as others have stated; 1. Hose the truck down with fluid film and rock the rust look or 2. Get it fixed. If you go with the latter, you will need to find a competent shop to do this properly, otherwise you will just be putting a band aid on a gunshot wound. I went with a full panel off and repair with @kelly saad because I live in the Northeast and my truck is in quite good shape and wanted to preserve this for years to come.

Bottom line is decide if this truck is a long term keeper and based on your budget, let that guide your approach.

Cheers, James

 

[ffcol]

I drove the 2 hours fully intending to buy it based on the photos and conversations. There was quite a bit more rust than in the photos and a putrid smell inside from rodents. I was going to take the bus there and buy it and drive it back. That would have been terrible, probably not a good idea or even possible without a respirator. No wonder why it wasn't ran through a car wash before the sale, which had me curious. I don't have the garage space or know-how to take on that project and know that rust likes to hide so I could not even figure out the cost for someone else doing it and don't always have the greatest experience with other prople doing work. I am sure someone who does know what they are doing will fix it up great. I wanted it to complement my TJ Rubicon with something with more room and relive the glory years when I had my 85 FJ cruising around the mountains but I guess you can never go back as they say.

 

[Lead Head]

I drove the 2 hours fully intending to buy it based on the photos and conversations. There was quite a bit more rust than in the photos and a putrid smell inside from rodents. I was going to take the bus there and buy it and drive it back. That would have been terrible, probably not a good idea or even possible without a respirator. No wonder why it wasn't ran through a car wash before the sale, which had me curious. I don't have the garage space or know-how to take on that project and know that rust likes to hide so I could not even figure out the cost for someone else doing it and don't always have the greatest experience with other prople doing work. I am sure someone who does know what they are doing will fix it up great. I wanted it to complement my TJ Rubicon with something with more room and relive the glory years when I had my 85 FJ cruising around the mountains but I guess you can never go back as they say.

Eh, keep looking! you'll find one.

 

[CruiserTrash]

What ideas do you have and ballpark cost to fix the bodywork on this 60 series?
1) driver front door leading edge and rear door trailing edge rust bubbles.
2) passenger rear door near bottom of window rust bubble.
3) driver rear quarter dent.
4) passenger rear quarter rust bubble.
5) Passenger rain gutter rust,

Just have no idea of ballpark cost and approach for rust fix/paint and expectation for further migration of rust if left alone. I am over 20 years removed from owning an FJ60 so been out of the game a while.

View attachment 4176341View attachment 4176342View attachment 4176345View attachment 4176347View attachment 4176344

Wait a minute ... is that truck located in Evergreen, Colorado?? And you willing to share the asking price? I might know this one.

 

[RevISK]

 

[sadovnik]

Wait a minute ... is that truck located in Evergreen, Colorado?? And you willing to share the asking price? I might know this one.

It's in Buena Vista. I contacted the seller as the price seemed really enticing at $13k, even before any haggling. I asked if there was any rust and his answer was "zoom in on the pictures" so I figured it was one of those sellers. Didn't get a good vibe so I passed. I can send you the guy's contact info. Here's the FB (pending) ad > 1986 FJ60

 

[ffcol]

It's in Buena Vista. I contacted the seller as the price seemed really enticing at $13k, even before any haggling. I asked if there was any rust and his answer was "zoom in on the pictures" so I figured it was one of those sellers. Didn't get a good vibe so I passed. I can send you the guy's contact info. Here's the FB (pending) ad > 1986 FJ60

This is it. Seemed like a nice guy. Could still be a good price for someone that does the work themselves. I just dont know enough.

 

[sadovnik]

The problem with rust is that it's never just what you see on the surface. If those bubbles were just surface bubbles, then it would be a very easy fix for a competent shop. But it's rarely just what you see. As @DrRock said, it's like an iceberg. It seemed like a good deal, just not for me. I'd rather spend the money fixing up the mechanicals instead of rust mitigation. Also, the seller could have mentioned the stench and pointed out the rust instead of making you drive two hours. Just my 2 cents.

 

[ffcol]

True and I hope someone from a long ways away does not buy it thinking they will have a pleasant drive home.

 

[RevISK]

Seems really shady he wouldn't mention the smell. Even if he didn't mind it (people are strange) someone would've had to say something?
@ffcol would you have been a lot more interested had the smell not been a thing?

 

[Devils Paw 80]

This is it. Seemed like a nice guy. Could still be a good price for someone that does the work themselves. I just dont know enough.

Yeah, it doesn't seem like a bad price if the mechanicals are sound. On second thought, I know from experience that rat urine smell is bad and persists indefinitely.

 

[bhsdriller]

Looks decent, says pending but it'll probably sell for that price

 

[CruiserTrash]

@sadovnik I thought it looked like Zepp's truck and garage for a minute but it's not. I know his 60 is "sort of" on the market but I don't think it's sold yet. I could be wrong.

@MonPetitShoe knows a thing or two about rodent urine smells! I think you mostly got the smell out, right Josh?

 

[MonPetitShoe]

It can be done with a good amount of work. I'd say I cleared up 99% of the interior mouse urine/excrement smell. Hard to tell if it's coming from the mouse squatters, or if it's just a 40 y/o vehicle that has a light smell. I've been in worse smelling vehicles that had nothing to do with mice. My 80 probably has a light smell that I've become nose-blind to at this point.

It came at a price of labor, for sure.
I pulled the entire interior, sans headliner and scrubbed everything down with bleach and/or dawn. I mean everything. If it could be disassembled, it was... Then it was soaked and/or scrubbed. Heater/Evap core(s) all the HVAC hoses/vents, heater/AC controls, steering wheel stock, erryting where the people sits. It was probably 70+ hours of work over a few weeks.
Shampoo'd the carpet and upholstery while they were out of the vehicle. I imagine if I had reupholstered/replaced the seats and bought new carpet, I'd be nearer to 99.5% smell reduction. The final 0.5% of the smell is probably in the headliner. I'm not touching that unless I was looking at a full restoration. That headliner would probably never be installed correctly.



Y'all are welcome to smell my 60 iffn' you're local. It can be done.